Course Description

Science Research Program – Grades 9, 10, 11, 12

Full Year – Level H: Incoming freshman and sophomore students must apply for admission to this program in January of the prior academic year. Acceptance into the program will be based on a science teacher recommendation, a written essay, and excellent academic grades.

This is an ongoing program that is taken in conjunction with the student’s regular science course. There are several tiers to the program. During Year 1 students learn the components of scientific research including the scientific method and apply these concepts in various settings including designing and conducting an authentic science research project and communicating results by participation in at least one local science fair. Students also explore various applications of science topics through field trips, guest speakers and class projects. Advanced students (Years 2-4) select their science research topic, locate an out-of-school mentor (either in industry or at a local university) and compete in a variety of science fairs including the CT State Science Fair, Southern CT Invitational Science and Engineering Fair (SCSEF) and the CT Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (CT JSHS). Advanced students pursue their selected research in depth, perform statistical analysis and compete at a number of local and/or national science fairs and competitions. In Years 2, 3, and 4 students are grouped together in a non-traditional classroom setting and are required to meet individually outside of class with their Science Research Instructor biweekly to review individual goals and assess progress. All students participate in the culminating annual activity, Amity’s Science Symposium.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Amity Science Research

Greetings!!I created this BLOG with hopes that Science Research students would share their class, guest speaker, field trip and science fair experiences with one another.I would also like to encourage science and research minded folks to participate in our conversation.Looking forward to hearing from you!

Here is the information regarding Norwalk Science Fair from Phil Gee and other Committee Members:

Dear Principal or Science Coordinator,

Mark your calendars! You and your students are cordially invited to participate in Norwalk Community College’s 7th Annual Science Fair, to be held at Norwalk Community College on April 3rd 2009 at 7:30 AM- 2:30 PM. Prizes will be given for the top three projects, and several honorable mention contestants. A lunch for all participants will be provided. The Science Fair will be held in the West Campus Atrium. This event is an excellent opportunity for your students to present their work and interact with faculty and students from NCC. All participants need to fill out the form that is also attached with this email and you may respond via email or a hard copy. Please be sure to advise us if the date of the Science Fair conflicts with your schools’ spring break. As always thank you for your participation in this event.

With the exception of the bus rides, the SCISEF fair was a lot of fun on Saturday. When we first arrived, I was a bit intimidated by all of the judges. It was my first fair, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. However, once I started talking to the judges, I began to feel more and more comfortable. After I finished my first presentation, I had to wait about an hour until the next set of judges arrived. Nevertheless, the fair was still a lot of fun, and there was plenty of food. I also received some constructive criticism from the judges to get more participants in order to validate the results. This gave me some elements of my project to improve before the next fair. Therefore, SCISEF was extremely successful, and I am looking forward to JSHS next month.

I feel that the scisef fair was a good fair to start off with. It is a generally smaller fair than some of the others, and it just seems less stressful. One thing that was kind of annoying to me was that I had to wait for 2 hours between judges. This happened to me last year as well, and it is irritating to have to wait...I rather just present 2 times in a row and be done so I can relax. Also it can be intimidating to have 3 judges all invading your personal space when you are presenting. Other than that it is always fun to share your projects and meet new people. I can't wait to go to the CT science fair as well as Norwalk (hopefully I win something like last year.)

well i enjoyed the bus ride! except someone ripped rear end and it smelled a little on way back. I was kinda nervous for the first group of judges, but got a little more relaxed. theyre actually nice. they encouraged me though my project was inconclusive. My project didnt get torn to pieces like some others, but whatever. it was relly nice.

I enjoyed attending SCISEF. I thought that the many projects presented there were interesting. Also, I thought that most of the judges there were really interested in the projects. Sometimes, it took a while before the second group/panel of judges arrived, but overall it was a good experience. I liked how the public could view your display and could comment on it. Not only that, but the food was great, and the school, overall, looked really nice. In the end, SCISEF was a worthwhile experience.

I thought some of the judges seemed a bit harsh,I kinda wondered why they were there because they were scting like they were at a funeral, but obviously all of them are going to be different. I think it's very important to tray to stay relaxed at the fairs, because i found that when I was nervous I tended to go through my presentation a lot faster and leave out more important things. Also, you can't let one less-than-ideal presentation get you down, you just have to focus on how you can improve for the next one. At this fair we had to do less presentations than we usually do, but that has its ups and downs. personally, I would rather have to do more presentations with fewer judges to each one because then you have more leeway for mistakes, wheras with fewer presentations, one bad presentation can really bring you down. The waiting is annoying, but it's to be expected, there are obviously only so many judges. Instead of complaining about what can't be changed, bring some homework or a book or an ipod or something. I also think we could have been fine getting there a lot later than we did, other than getting a head start on the food. Overall, it was a good first fair, it think everybody had fun.

This was my first fair and overall it was an ok experience. I was really tired that day so I wasn't totally excited at first but once I had a few cups of coffee I was ok. I wasn't that thrilled with Ms. Day and her camera, but what can you do? My first set of judges took an hour to get to me and they were very scary and indimidating. I didn't like them so much. The second group was much better but the best part of the fair would have had to be the two hours after the judging where we could just hang out and do whatever we wanted. This was a nice fair to go to and the school was REALLY big!

I thought this fair was okay. It was nerve-racking presenting to the judges. However, it was fun looking at all of the other projects. Some of my judges were very critical of my experiment and stated what I did wrong and what I can do to fix it in the future. This will help my project to be better in the future, however, I did not like how the judges were so harsh.

The SCISEF fair was a lot of fun. One of my judges was a biochemist, and apparently knew my mentor, which was pretty cool. There was also a lot of really cool people, the memory of whom I will carry with me for the rest of my life (read: David Phipps). All in all, it was a fun way to spend a Saturday. Congratulations Laura and Justin!

The SCISEF Science fair was OK. It was second time there, so I sort of knew wh at to expect. I was pretty happy that I finished presenting pretty soon, as opposed to last year where it took forever. The judges were a lot nicer this year than last year and the questioning wasn't too bad. The video taking was pretty amusing,a nd I guess it was OK.

I thought that this was a great fair to kick off this year's science fair season! It was great to present to the judges and share our research with other students. I found the judges to be generally nice, yet I heard stories from others that their judges were not quite so friendly. The judges seemed genuinely interested in my research and asked great questions, so I had an overall good experience. I hope that I can take the things I learned from this fair to improve my presentation for future fairs. Congrats Jenny, Laura, and Justin!!!

Overall, the SCISEF Fair was great. Although I did not win anything, it was exciting to present my own research. It was great to share my ideas. Also, the judges were really nice. It was great to talk to people who could understand my project give me suggestions and ask me questions. The judges seemed nicer this year and less odd. The video camera made it a lot more fun.

The SCISEF Fair was okay. I think it was defininitely more interesting than last year, and some of the projects fascinated me. The judges were somewhat tough on me, but they did give me useful information on how to improve my presentation for the next science fair. I am happy that a few people from Amity won awards, but I am a little disappointed that I didn't win anything. The video camera made the science fair more fun and interesting too. The food was really good too!!

the SCISEF fair was a really fun place to be, like usual. It's always nice having the entire Amity SRP crew together at one fair, and I think this is the only one where that happens. It's also a great way to start off the year because it seems a bit more informal than some of teh other fairs (JSHS/CT science fair). I think the judges weren't being harsh, they were just giving good feedback. And it's important to listen to what they say because as professionals they certainly know what you can improve on.

The SCISEF fair was pretty fun. Aside from the fact that I had to wake up at 5:30, it was a pretty successful day. My judges came late, but that's understandable; the teachers and administrators were all very cooperative and it was great conversing with others. I was disappointed that my friend from Staples High School didn't participate; I worked with him on muisc cognotion with Dr. Ross over the summer, and I was excited to see his research. Regardless, I had fun; congratulations to Jen, Justin, and Laura.

I didn't go to the science fair unfortunately, but I heard from Dave that it was fun and there was really good food. Instead, I went to Washington D.C. with Tom and JSA for Winter Congress. We left at midnight on thursday and got back around 11pm last night. Winter Congress is a 3 day convention where high school kids in Northeast JSA get together and debate. We visited capitol hill on Friday and debated Saturday and Sunday. The whole event was really fun but really tiring. I got around 10 hours of sleep in the past 3 days.

i think that scisef is an ok fair to start out with. In my opinion, it is one of the fairs that exhibits some of the best research projects and may be intimidating for anyone's first science fair. But it is also one of the best-run fairs at an excellent school. it sets the standard

Oh, but to add to my last comment: having so many good projects, there were also a lot of judges who were highly knowledgable about the projects. While this meant that our first presentations had to be top-notch, the feedback from the judges helps improve one's project for future science fairs.

SCISF was a lot of fun! I had a great group of judges and I can't wait to get their comments about my presentation. The most exciting thing about my day was that I got to meet a lot of new students. I was really proud of all the Amity students that won! Great job Jen, Justin, and Laura! Overall, it was a successful day for Amity.

I felt that SCISEF was a reasonably enjoyable experience. Although the waiting around to be judged was rather tiring, I still felt that the overall experience was positive. I found many of the projects extraordinarily interesting. I was glad that some people from Amity won. I wasn't particularly upset that i didn't win anything as I never exactly expected to. The free food was also good! Finally, the whole video-recording of the documentary thing was cool too.

I thought SCISEF was...meh. The judges (from my own experience and the experience of others) were a bit harsh. My first round judges were fine :D, but the second round, I had a judge who had a lot of experience in the field. His critisism was helpful, although it could have been more constructive =.=

Also, the schedule was meh as well. The judges were on time, but the time between the judging and the final seemed to take an eternityyyyyy............ -.- Plus, my location sucked. There was no one close to me, so I spent all the time playing Tetris. o.(O)

BUT...the cameras were fun. I even named one of the cameras. Her name is Amanda. o.ODibs on filming at the next science fair.

I thought SCISEF fair was very interesting. This was my second year at SCISEF, so I knew what to expect, which made it less stressful. I really like the science fair process altogether. I enjoy presenting my project to a group of people who are interested in what I am talking about. What I like specifically about SCISEF is that it is a relatively small fair. Science Horizons and some of the other fairs have hundreds of participants, which can be very intimidating, but SCISEF is not as big. This makes a more relaxed atmosphere. The on thing that I did not like about SCISEF is that we had to wait by our board for a long time. I got a group of judges right off the bat, and then waited for an hour. That hour was so nerve-wracking, never mind boring. I didn't have anyone from Amity next to me, so if I wanted to talk to someone, I had to risk missing my judges. For this reason, I basically sat at my poster... waiting... for a long time. My second group of judges was also very rude. They were not very out-front about it, but they were very snooty and told me that my experiment was not valid in the least. Otherwise it was fun.

I enjoyed SCISEF because I became better at presenting my research and conveying information to judges. It was tough when there were long waiting periods between judges, though. Next time it would be good to bring more things to do (like cards =]). The food was wonderful as usual, especially the chocolate chip cookies. Ishan was judged last, like the year before. It's tradition. The judges gave good feedback and it was fun to be around fellow students interested in science.

One was how food presented vertically seems to have a larger portion than food presented horizontally. Interestingly, this leads to greater consumption of the horizontally presented food (b/c people think there is less food). Interesting...

But this other project was really interesting too. Turns out, mice can be depressed! I never knew that! Does that mean that like...frogs can be depressed O.o? The method through which the depression was identified was...strange though.

They dropped the mice in water and saw what they did. If they swam, they weren't depressed. If they didn't swim, they were depressed.

Basically, they waterboarded mice o.o;;

Isn't that against some sort of ethics law or something? I mean, I bet they can't do that to humans or monkeys...and those mice don't know how to swim! It's not like there are swimming lessons for mice...

I enjoyed the SCISEF science fair. I got to meet several students from other schools and got to talk about their research with them, such as the person who did the bulletproof armor experiment. We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the dragon armor, which was recently failed by the US Army. Justin, who I met at the science fair last year, showed me his research which dealt with the transmitters found in passports. I feel that the SCISEF was a good start to an excellent science fair season for Amity SRP.

Surprisingly, I was awake when we left for the fair at 6:45am! When we arrived, all of us enjoyed a nice breakfast of bagels, juice, and fresh fruit! :D I was able to preview most of the posters before the judges filed in. It was so interesting to see the variety of projects present, from mental effects of acupuncture to a new design for skis. I waited about 45 minutes for my first set of judges to come. They asked me many interesting questions, such as: We know there is a statistically significant difference between these two groups, but is there a real difference?Most judges seemed very interested in my project, only one was a bit distracted.The lunch was great! Cheeseburger, sparkling fruit juice, fries, cookie... mmm ^^It was a fun and mildly exhausting experience!

Judging from the comments, scisef sounds like it was alot of fun! I didn't go on Saturday, although i would have liked to. Saturday morning instead I drove to North Haven High School to audition for an All-State Orchestra, where I would play the violin. I did okay at my try-out, even though i was really nervous. I just found out today that i got in! I'm super happy and excited for when the festival comes in March/April!

I enjoyed the science fair. i thought that the judges were very kind and i thought it was a very well organized fair. i enjoyed the food and time spent together. the only thing that i didn't like was the fact that some of us, like eric and i, were done in 20 minutes and that others, like jacqui and david, had to wait for 2 hours. i also didn't like the fact that we had to wake up at 5:00 a.m. in order to catch the bus. however, i look forward to the next fair.

I couldn't attend SCISEF either, but it seems like it was a very good experience. I heard that Staples HS was really nice. Instead, I had an All-State audition that also involved getting up early on Saturday morning. =( I was kind of nervous and didn't play my best, but I found out today that I still got in. I'm very happy and excited. I look forward to the festival in April, but unfortunately it means missing another science fair. =(

I enjoyed the science fair very much. It was a good learning experience. Everything was pretty good execpt for the part where I had to wait an hour for the judges to show up, then another hour before the other judges came. Over all everything was good. I hope the next fair is as good.

I thought that the science fair was a great experience. I had never been to one before, but it was easy to understand and participate. I got both my judge groups relatively quick, so I did do a good deal of sitting around. In that time I had an opportunity to see many other projects, some of which I found to be really cool and exciting. I was, however, upset by the comments made by the speaker in the auditorium. There were some things that he said and implied about video games that were....uncalled for. Especially since it was the subject of several research projects, including my own.

I had a pretty good time at the fair despite having to wait so long to be judged. It was a little annoying to have to wait that long without anything happening, but it was good to get to know some of the other SRP students better and hang out with the ones that I already know. The size of the fair and the wide range of really good projects was fairly intimidating, but the judges (at least the ones that I had) were not overly harsh. They actually gave me a couple of ideas for alternate procedures for my study. The questions at the end helped a lot too. The judges were able to poke at my weak spots and reveal them to me so that I know what to improve next time around.

I thought the SCISEF was a pretty good first experience. The fair took a really long time but it was fun. The food was good and it was interesting to see how other students did their projects. I saw some very impressive and professional-looking projects and it well definitely serve as insight for future experiments. The judges were really friendly and I will heed their advice.

Overall, mt experience was an enjoyable one. I liked how we got a lot of food and drinks in the beginning of the day. When my first set of judges came around I got pretty nervous but I eventually cooled myself down. The first judges were very laye back and nice. The second set of judges were pretty much the exact opposite. They were uptight and high strung. They were very intimidating. I think I did much worse while talking to the second set of judges than with the first judges.

I thought the science fair was defintely a good experience. The judges gave me a lot of really good suggestions and I got some good practice talking about my project. The only thing I didn't like was that it took a really long time for the judges to come and visit me. Other than that I thought it was kind of fun. Plus the food was good.

I thought that the SCISEF was a really fun experience. I got to present what I know and am learning to people who had no idea. I also got to see other people's projects. Some of them were really creative and some of them were really difficult to understand. But of course some of them were unoriginal and repetitive, but overrall, everyone had really nice projects. One guy had a similar project to mine, relating to mice, obesity, and the hormone leptin. But of course he overshadowed me with his amazing, professional poster and deep background knowledge. But it was a graet time. The food was good and the friends were great:)

joke /dʒoʊk/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [johk] Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, joked, jok⋅ing. –noun 1. something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act: He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him.

I just wanted to thank all those students, parents, mentors, administrators and guests who participated in the "Mentor and Guest Speaker Gathering" this evening. The event went quite well considering we did not have time to rehearse....lol... Next year, I anticipate an even larger turn out! Keep up the good work, Amity!

HI i am blogging hihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihidoes that count as a sentencefor the record i dont write in sentences on the internetsee, no period the science fair was okaythe only thing notable as ugh was waiting for the judges and sitting around

I'm really excited to go to JSHS next weekend. Although I'm not a presenter, I think that it'll be great to see other students' work and listen to students present. Watching other students may give me some ideas on how I can improve my presentation for future fairs. The only drawback about JSHS is the fact that it's on my birthday, but I'm sure I'll have fun. I am also really excited for the CT Science Fair. I still have some work to do prior to this fair. I have to edit my paper, add to my laboratory notebook, and fix up my poster. When I got my results from SCISEF the most common comment I got from my judges was surprisingly about my poster. Though I like my poster, I am planning on printing my poster professionally. I think that fixing my poster is especially important for the CT Sciencec Fair because the first round of this fair does not involve oral presentation, but merely your poster and judges. I am really excited for the upcoming weeks of science fairs!!!

JSHS is going to be a lot of fun next weekend. I need to revise my poster before then, but once the revisions are made, it will be really interesting to stay at UCONN. I've never fully explored a college campus before, so that will be really interesting. Science Horizons should also be a lot of fun. Hopefully, I won't have to wait 2 hours between each set of judges like I did at SCISEF. But either way, it will only be my second science fair, so it should be an interesting experience.

I, too, am looking forward to attending JSHS this weekend. It has been very fun in the past. I have enjoyed the specialized science tours, oral presentations by both students and professionals, and, of course, the food. Although I am not presenting myself, it will be great to support my fellow SRP students who are sharing their work, especially Ishan! I am also very excited about competing in the CT Science Fair, which I participated in last year. I hope to get past the first round this time =]! In preparation for this fair, I'll need to update my poster because I now have final results. It will be a lot of work, but definitely worth it.

Arian, don't forget that you can present your entire research findings at our Symposium in late May. You can also discuss your research with other like minded students if you decide to attend JSHS this coming weekend.

I'm excited for Science Horizons. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun. Oh! Ms. Day I forgot to tell you that I could volunteer this coming Tuesday at CT Science Fair. Emily and I will be carpooling there and back. I hope that goes well too. Well, good luck to all attending and participating in the various science fairs this weekend!

For the past couple weeks, I have been working on my poster and it's finally printing at Yale. It was actually ready today, but my dad was too lazy to go get it -_-. The whole process of making a poster for print was really interesting and new. I had to buy this software called adobe illustrator and everything (figures, text, etc) was handmade because the software can make anything (so no more google pictures..)Next tuesday, Tom and I will be carpooling to Quinnipiac to set up poster and then staying to volunteer until 7pm. That'll be fun because we get free food and t-shirts.:D

I am very excited about attending the upcoming science fairs this coming week including Science Horizons, JSHS and CT Science Fair.

The SCISEF fair has really helped prepare all of you for subsequent fairs and I am eager to view your new and improved posters and hear updated research findings.

Oh, and please remind me to pick up the video cameras from the Tech Office today so that we can capture this on film! Since all of you will participate in different events, it's nice to share collectively as many ways as possible. Photos and video help. This Blog also acts as a reference and reflection point so I am happy to see so many students actively posting.

Best of luck this coming week, Amity! I am extremely proud of your exhaustive work and dedication to the scientific process!

Today, I spent the day at JSHS, and I'm going back tomorrow. So far, I have found JSHS to be a great fair. I enjoyed seeing other students' research presentations and I liked the presentations by professionals. The food was also really good. :) I am excited to go back tomorrow to watch student oral presentations and get a tour of the laboratories!!! I also like the idea of missing school tomorrow (even though I have to make up CAPT). On Tuesday, I have to bring my poster to Quinnipiac for the CT Science Fair. In preparation for this fair, I have updated my paper and am having my poster professionally printed. I hope that everything goes well with my poster... I am picking it up tomorrow night. This is definitely an exciting science fair week!!!

science horizons on saturday was really long and really tiring. although, it was a good experience. it was interesting to see such a diverse array of projects, coverign almost every topic! the judging was pretty nerve racking, although it did get easier towards the end. I met some new people from other schools whose projects were set up around mine. overall the fair was a good experience, but the ride to new milford was definitely too long!

I didn't go to the science fair because I had a family party. I first went to softball practice at 8 to 1030 then I drove straight to Meriden for a family party. It was fun. Instead of the fair I went to an all-day seminar at UNH with Dr. Henry Lee and his colleagues. Dr. Lee talked about some of his famous cases and I got a book written by him, signed by him. Then another woman got up and talked about DNA and DNA's part on crime scenes. The final speaker talked about the myths and realities about CSI. It was really cool.

I went to the science horizons fair.On friday i thought the drive there was pretty fun because we went along the housatonic and that was kinda scenic. the backcountry road was also nice and there were good songs on the radio. but i started getting a headache on the ride back. On saturday getting up was a pain. i almost missed the bus. all we did on the bus was play connect four with CLLLARRK! The fair seemed a lot bigger than scisef. judges came more frequently. at first i was nervous, but then i got used to it. i didnt expect to get into the semifnals. i felt smart, but that sorta changed my plans for the afternoon. lol. i was falling asleep towards like 4 oclock. i talked to some strangers, but didnt really know their names. then i went bowling at night

I didnt go to the science fair but, i hope everyone had fun won some awards. I went to the debate tournament and i blew it... hamden won everything. Two of their teams made the final round. and two snobs from Xavier beat me.... very mad

Because the judges did not like my experiment, I didn't go to the science fair. Instead, I will have to go to a volunteer thing or two science saturdays and write up a one page paper for both of them. I wish I went so I wouldn't have do these other things.

Science Horizons was a much different atmosphere than the other fair. It seemed a lot more laid-back, and many of the contestants were (from what I gathered) doing it as a requirement for their biology classes. That made the mood a little worse, because you ended up with people who weren't enthusiastic about their projects. I liked the oth ther fair better because it seemed like there was a wider range of interesting projects. I also liked being judged by groups rather than by individuals. It seems a lot less intense?- just generally easier to talk to multiple people. It also helped that I reviewed everything on my board before the second judge, becauses I had trouble remembering all of the things I needed to talk about for the first judge.

I could not attend Science Horizons this weekend because I went to Connecticut Senior Swimming Championships. This is one of the fastest Connecticut swimming meets and as you can expect, it was a lot of fun and very exciting. I swam well and my teammates did as well. It was a good but tiring experience. This swim meet also kicked off the championship season. And this weekend, starting thursday (and ending Sunday), I will participate in Connecticut Age Group Swimming Championships (states). I even have a good chance of getting first place. I am very excited.

I attended the science horizons fair. I thought that it was much larger than SCISEF. It was a little less organized though, and it was confusing as to how many judges a perosn would get. I myself got 4, but I know that some got 3. It was really confusing in the beginning because I was set up in the wrong area, and I had to be moved. The judges were good, and I got some nice comments and suggestions. I was happy because many people from amity were finalists, though not dissapointed myself that I did not because there was taco bell on the way home.

i personally enjoyed the scicef fair better than the science horizons one. science horizons had me stand for multiple hours at a time. at the scicef fair i could eat food and chat with friendes while waiting for the judges. however, both the fairs lacked a notice that told you when the judges would come or how many would arrive. unfortunatly, i was 1 of the minority that didn't make the finals.

This weekend I couldn't attend Science Horizons because I went to the Connecticut Senior meet. The Connecticut Senior meet is a very important swim meet where all the best swimmers in Connecticut swim. In order to get into the meet you require a certain time standard. So I was at the meet from 7 in the morning until noon then finals at night. So I am sorry I couldn't attend the fair.

i personally enjoyed the scicef fair better than the science horizons one. science horizons had me stand for multiple hours at a time. at the scicef fair i could eat food and chat with friendes while waiting for the judges. however, both the fairs lacked a notice that told you when the judges would come or how many would arrive. unfortunatly, i was 1 of the minority that didn't make the finals.

I participated in Science Horizons this weekend. It was definitely a good experience as far as presenting in front of judges and getting to see what goes on at science fairs. There were a lot of great projects and it was very interesting to see all the diversity. While waiting for the judges, I made friends with the two people whose projects were across from me. They were really nice and it definitely helped to have someone to talk to while waiting. A chair would also have helped...

As far as the actual judging, I found that most of the judges were pretty nice. I realized that it really helps if they respond and give feedback as you present. Even if it's the smallest nod or a "uh huh," it makes you a lot more confident and comfortable if you know that they're following what you say. Some of my judges kind of stared blankly as I talked, so I was a bit unsure what they were thinking. And then there was a lady who actually specialized in the area I studied, so her questions were pretty tough... not good...

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. The drive was pretty long, but other than that, it was worth it. =)

Science horizons was a good experience for me. the projects there was really interesting. this fair was different than scicef, there was even a police guarding the judges area. I learn a lot from this such as how to present better. The only bad part was spending all those hours in the car. I got a huge headache every single time. and i should have brought a chair.

Sadly, I didn't go to Science Horizons, but I did stay home by myself, doing practically nothing for the whole day, due to the fact that i currently have no internet and my parents and brother all ditched me Saturday.

I am excited to go to the Ct Science fair. It should be a really interesting and fun experience. I have updated my poster and am ready to go. Since this time is my first time going to the Ct Sci. Fair, im a little nervous and not sure what to expect. Its going to be kind of weird because we dont present for the first round of judging.

Unfortunately, I could not attend Science Horizons. This was a result of my forms not being sent in. However, I do plan to help out at the Connecticut Science Fair on Wednesday. I look forward to seeing all of the different posters and projects. I am also looking forward to seeing who the finalists are.

On Saturday I did not actually attend the Science Horizons science fair because on Friday, I was unable to bring my poster to New Milford. Because of that, I could not attend on Saturday, since everyone was supposed to register on Friday. However, I plan on making the science fair up by attending something else, that deals with science.

I went to Science Horizons Friday night to register, Saturday aaaallll day because I was a finalist, and Sunday for the awards ceremony. But ti went really well. I presented really well almost every time, and the judges really liked my project. I placed fourth in the biological section and won 10 dollars!! Now I am entering Connecticut Science Fair, and we'll see what happens from there.

Science Horizons was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the judges that I had because they were really interested about my project. They were very enthusiastic! When they're eager to learn about your project it makes it easier to talk to them. By the end of the day, however, I was exhausted. After a while I was so sick of hearing my own voice. But this fair gave me an opportunity to participate at CT Science Fair and I'm excited about that. It also allowed me to meet a variety of students from different schools. The best part of the day was when I got to use the video camera to record other students present about their projects. Overall I had a great time at the fair and I hope I can participate in it again next year. Congratulations Evan and Emily! Good luck to all those involved in JSHS!

Science Horizons is a very fun fair overall. I personally had fun, but then again, I wasn't one of the people waiting for hours for my final judge to come. All of my judges came within an hour of the fair starting which was really nice and unusual. Since I was done so soon, I was able to get some interviews from other people at the fair. Yesmien, Emily, Ben, and I interviewed a few, very interesting projects. One contestant created a Newtonian Telescope out of common household objects. Another contestant tested beef for certain chemicals, which was also very interesting. Unfortunately, my first judge was awful. He told me I had around seven minutes, so I paced myself accordingly. After three minutes of talking, he cut me off and asked questions for about a minute. During this minute, I got in as much information as possible, but he still cut me off before I could finish my results. I only had about four minutes to do my project, which was really unfair.I did have very good judges overall. Two of my other judges were teachers, so they found it very interesting and therefore paid attention. These judges were amazing in the fact that they genuinely cared about my project and asked questions out of pure interest, not judging or technicalities. That is why I liked this fair, some of the other fairs had judges who just had to listen my presentation, but this fair selected judges who were experts in the field and wanted to hear it.Another thing about this fair that I did not like was the fact that the eighth graders ran wild! The teachers were not allowed in the room, as Ms. Day found out, so no one was there to control them. It was really bad. They ran screaming and making faces and hand gestures at people while presenting, and it was extremely obnoxious. This is one of the many reasons I believe that the teachers should be allowed in there. They would have been able to control the children.

JSHS was a lot of fun this weekend. I came a little bit late because I had to come directly from the award ceremony at the Science Horizons Fair. As a result, I missed the poster presentation session, but I was able to talk with the judges and answer their questions later. We met some pretty nice kids from other schools and ate great food before going to our "dorms". Originally, I was wondering why every other Amity student had decided not to stay overnight, but I soon discovered the reason. We had to sleep on a dirty gym floor, and there wasn't any clean water because the water fountain was broken. But the following day, we heard some really interesting presentations and took tours of the labs. Then, to finish it off, Ishan, Thomas, and Ms. Day all won awards! Therefore, although the accomodations were really gross, the overall JSHS experience was extremely interesting.

science horizons was an interestin experience... very long but it gave good practie for presenting... i liked being one on one with the judges instead of having them come in groups.... however it was a very long day.... dont eat at taco bell ....it stinks.. hahah but yeah over all it was a good learning experience

JSHS was pretty cool. The first presentation about theoretical physics was really cool, and I really enjoyed it. Then, the poster viewing session was cool too, because all of the different projects were intruiging. The team building activity with the candies where we had to guess the amount of candy was stupid, in my opinion. My view of the situation wasn't helped by getting stuck in a group of girls who couldn't care less about science.But the whole social and community feeling was really cool, in my opinion. Eddie and I actually befriended one of the oral presenters, which led to interesting discussion. The overnight accomodations were abysmal. There wasn't that much to do other than play basketball in the gym, talk, or entertain yourself with some sort of electronic device (alas, I had not brought my iPod). Luckily, however, I had my two nerd essentials--a rubiks cube and a Stephen Hawking book--so I was set. We had no cold drinking water, however, other than a liter of poland springs water that disappeared in an instance. Additionally, there were a couple really annoying kids from whatever school Dr. Labanca is from who had a couple iPhones and would not shut up all night long. Plus, the gym floor was not the best thing to sleep on. The next day was okay...while the building we slept in was crap, the showers were alright, and the breakfast was okay. The oral presenters were really cool though! All of the projects were really really interesting, and I was able to understand many of them. The lab tour was annoying though, because I got Agricultural sciences, which is light-years (HAHA) away from my first choice, Astronomy, my second choice, Molecular Biology, and my third choice, Evolutionary Biology. It wasn't a lab tour either, just a powerpoint presentation about meat. Not to say it wasn't interesting (plus, we got free ice cream!). Still, I would have preferred Astronomy. Anyway, other than that, it was really cool that Thomas, Ishan, and Ms. Day won awards.

BUT THE WEATHER WAS CRAZY! Saturday was first 65 degrees and really warm, then one day later, it was SNOWING LIKE A BLIZZARD!

Today, JSHS was great!! It was great to watch students from various high schools present their research. I found that many of the projects were very interesting. I also enjoyed meeting kids from other high schools in Connecticut. I think that the best part of my day was definitely my tour of the Pathobiology lab at UCONN. Pathobiology was one of the subject areas I chose upon signing up for JSHS, though before today I had no idea what pathobiology entailed. During today's tour, scientists explained how they determined if ticks were carrying lyme disease, if milk is safe for consumers, and if various flocks of birds carry traces of the avian bird flu. The best part of my tour was when I got to examine animal brains, kidneys, lungs, and hearts, namely those of a calf that scientists were currenty cutting and studying. Though the tour was fascinating, the smell was atrocious!! It was a great day!!Oh and my CT Science Fair poster came out great!! :)

I'm a little bit nervous for the CT Science Fair because I did not go to it last year and it seems a lot different from the other fairs. I'm happy that I won't have to present for the first round of judging. I'm really disappointed that the Norwalk Science Fair was cancelled because that was my favorite one last year, and since it was later in the year, everyone's projects are typically at their best. After this fair, we won't get to share our projects again until the Symposium, so I am hoping to make the best out of this one.-Danielle E

I attended Science Horizons on Saturday. I felt that it was a good experience. I saw a lot of interesting projects. All the while during the time while I was waiting I was very jealous of Evan, who SAT next to me in his CHAIR. Grrrrr.

I felt that two of the judges, my second and third, were rather nice. My first judge seemed entirely disinterested; I asked her whether she wanted to read over my poster before I presented, which she did (or at least, she skimmed it), and then she asked me a grand total of three questions, thanked me, and walked away. I never even presented for my first judge. My fourth judge was by far the worst, though. She tried to quiz me on the scientific method and how my project reflects it...which would be alright, but her strict view of the scientific method was demanding an active experiment, which my project technically wasn't; my project was purely observational research, which is the "other type" of scientific learning, and thus doesn't fit very well into the simplified, grade-school version of the scientific method. I did my best to get her to understand that, but she was adamant. She also attacked me on every single individual statement of mine; every word out of my mouth, she contested; every bit of the process I explained, she found fault with. Needless to say, after all this, I was less than entirely confident…which the judge, evidently, noticed. She asked me whether I was nervous, then proceeded to give me a five-minute long speech about confidence and how I should have it. She said that I should confident even though I was going to be attacked on every single point in my research, should I choose a career involving publishing research, and even though I was sure to be right some of the time. She pointed out that my attackers wouldn’t necessarily have any expertise in the field about which I would be presenting…without realizing the irony of it in the slightest.

However, I enjoyed the experience overall. It was all worth it, because scientific research is always interesting.

JSHS was a lot of fun. I thought that UConn's campus was very pretty, and exceedingly modern. Also, the key-note presentations were exceptionally interesting. The guy who spoke about light seemed to really know his stuff, and he presented it in a way that was comprehensive and enjoyable. The student who followed him, however, was excruciatingly boring. Though his research was probably very interesting, the way in which he presented it made it difficult to follow. The woman who went later was also very good. Though her presentation focused less on science than on the logistics of traveling in Antarctica, I thought that she did a very good job. The oral presentations and posters were also very well done. All of the posters were so neat and orderly! It was very impressive. Congrats to Tom and Ishan!

I had so much fun at JSHS!!! It was quite a... different experience. Instead of presenting only to inspecting judges, I had the chance to share my project with many of the numerous student participants at JSHS. All of the visitors to my poster were really nice and respectful. I enjoyed presenting to them very much!

And, of course, there was almost (but not quite, we eat a LOT) an over-abundance of food :D Very exciting as well! The cheese and cookies were especially good mmm!

We had some interesting speakers as well. My favorite was a graduated student who talked about her seven-week trip to Antartica. Their only fresh vegetable during the entire voyage was an onion 0.o It froze.

At the end of the first day, there was a JSHS-wide candy guessing contest! The scientific twist was that we were allowed to use rulers and balances to measure the volume and mass of the five types of candy. We needed to guess not only the total number of candies, but the number of each kind. Hard work!! But... my team miraculously won, and, of course, we got the jar of candy (;

I forgot to mention, the weather was amazing that first day. It was 60-ish degrees and the sun was shining ^^ We weren't so lucky on the second day! I couldn't believe it when I saw the huge blobs of snow splattering onto the ground to form deceiving hills of slush. Ick.

Of course, since I participated in another conference in another UConn building, I had to walk through all that slush, trying not to get my poster soaked! At the conference, I heard a talk by Gene Lickens, who was one of the pioneers who discovered acid rain (whoaa)! He has done research since the 1960's on a forest in New Hampshire, and has found that the forest is dying because of human influences, such as acid rain. Acid rain causes loss of calcium in the soil and causes increased freezing injury of coniferous trees. Although the acidity of rain is dropping little by little, the problem is most definitely NOT solved. The long term acid rain has made the forest more sensitive than ever, and it appears that conditions are worse than they were in 1980. So, not only does acid rain damage statues and buildings (as we learn in science class), it is also killing the innocent wildlife around us. As he said it "Speak out when you have something to say!"

Justin- I really enjoyed the JSHS this year. I am a little disappointed that when I signed up for oral or poster presentation they meant Rising Star instead of the regular poster category but I am still happy that I got to share my research. I feel that the fair tours really improved from last year. The previous year I went on the physics tour which wasn't that great. However, this year I went on the agricultural tour which was very well done. I also liked how we got free ice cream from the dairy bar after the presentation. I also liked the air force presentation a lot, since I am going into mechanical engineering and come from a long line of mechanical and aerospace engineers. However, I found the Antarctica presentation a little boring. In past years eagles and hawks were brought in which I really enjoyed. Overall, I think that the JSHS was a great experience. Congratulations Tom and Ishan.

I really enjoyed Science Horizons this year. I feel my project was important. The results surprised my mentor, me, and all the judges, two of which were experts in the field of my project or a related field. Although it may seem as though my project was just another bacteria project or repetition of what many people have been saying, it is not. I knew that antibiotic-resistant bacteria were becoming a problem in our society, but I didn't expect them to be in my own home. I was glad that I could share my project with other people, especially because they were bright people. I feel I presented well, and I think that the judges really liked my project. Overall, the fair was a lot of fun. However, I did not like waiting at my poster so long. I also think that I was not accepted to the other science fairs largely because people thought that my project was just another, simple bacteria project. However, it's much more complicated than that. Although there was a lot of waiting, nervousness, and tension at the fair, it was an exciting experience. Besides, we went to Taco Bell after. Who could say it was a bad trip?

JSHS was great. I couldn't make it the first day, though I was able to refine my powerpoint a bit. The day I went was amazing- I was able to meet a lot of really interesting people and every single poster and oral presenter was great. I am very grateful for placing in the top 5, and now I have to decide whether or not I'm going to go (it is, after all, during AP week...). Congratulations to all who won participated and won awards- great job everyone!

This week I am participating in CT Science Fair. Preparation has been exciting, but beacuse this fair is only a poster without any oral presentation to judges, I had to redo my poster (which was a hassle). Still, I just got back from setting up my poster, and there was an entire gym full of incredible posters. Congratulations to all the winners weve had this week, and hopefully there will be more to come! ~Dave

Volunteering at CT Science Fair was great! Emily and I had so much fun (well at least I did - she was really tired by the end)! It was really interesting to see a variety of projects and help set them up. The people were really nice and I liked helping the students find their way. Oh, I wanted to say congratulations to all those who participated and won awards at JSHS! Good job!

First of all, congrats to Ishan, Tom, Eddie, Jenny, Yesmien, Evan, and last but not least, Ms. Day. Science Horizons, last saturday, was pretty good. There seemed to much more finalists this year than last, though I have to say the finalist judging round was much more bearable this year, with less judges. I enjoyed the presentation during the awards ceremony by heidi hammel, who is a rocket scientist for NASA. her talk was actually very interesting and addressed the current projects she is working on, including the telescope that will replace Hubble in a few years. I then drove the one and half hours on sunday to JSHS, which I am glad I was able to attend. Not only were there a lot of interesting presenters, the food was good, and I was able to walk around the UConn campus a bit. However, I do have to say that the oral presentations, though very impressive and sometimes completely incomprehensible, seemed to come from a majority of research done in someone else's lab as a part of a summer program. In other words, the idea and methodology were not theirs, but of their mentor. In two cases, the mentors of the presenters were the parents...which seemed a little fishy. However, i was amazed at the amount of student research conducted every year in Connecticut. I was also amazed at the cash prizes at JSHS. I would def recommend this fair for anyone interested next yearI also volunteered for the CT Science fair today. I am sorry to say that it was a thoroughly boring experience. Basically, we walked around and performed "safety" checks on incoming participants. But I am most saddened that I was terrible at the job...I left my post by the door, taped all the numbers on the wrong way, lost "customers" by leading them to the wrong table number...etc. But it is a good way to see the inner workings of a science fair if anyone is interested and a way to gain community service hours.

JSHS was a lot of fun, although I had to leave early on Monday. I liked the woman's presentation on her trip to Alaska especially. The candy counting contest was also cool, in which I got to meet students from other schools. The dinner that night was good and the strawberry cheesecake was delicious! The next morning, I was able to attend some student presentations (unfortunately not Ishan's). Josh and I also interviewed some students, which was very amusing. On Tuesday night, I brought my poster to Quinnapiac for the CT Science Fair. It was fun to see my fellow students helping out and I was impressed by the many projects there.

On Tuesday, after school, Tom and I went to Quinnapiac to drop our posters off at CT science fair. We then proceeded to volunteer for the duration of the night and got nifty yellow tshirts. I wanted aprons, but Sandra Muller said that we would man the registration desk and didn't need aprons. At the registration desk, we basically just checked kids in with their projects. Tom and I grouped the kids in three categories: completely clueless, normal, and normal with crazy obbsessive parents who hovered the entire time. Dinner was provided and it was really good pasta with chicken and cookies. Then Dave showed up to drop off his poster and he drove Tom and I home with a Dunkin Donuts stop on the way.

Wednesday night, I found out I was a finalist along with Justin and Emily (congrats to them!) and that nobody from staples got in..yet 11 ppl from Greenwich got in..hmmThat night, I went over to my mentors house to practice presenting. It was good to go through the entire presentation once before judging.

Friday's judging process was soo long. I got there around 8:20, and waited until 8:30 when they let everyone in. Then we were judged all the way until 11:30 which was when our break was. But because nobody wanted to leave their posters in case judges came around, the break was hardly a break. Then mroe judging until 1:15 for lunch and the awards ceremony until 5pm. The entire day was just really long and tiring with Greenwich kids winning all possible awards. But I still had a lot of fun.

Human cloning is a very controversial issue and has been for many years. At first cloning a human was just a theoretical idea, but ever since the cloning of the sheep Dolly in 1997, scientists and people alike have been speculating about human cloning. Some people claim that there are many benefits to human cloning, but this is not the case. Human cloning is definitely not beneficial for society. In cloning humans, there is a huge risk for fetal demise and birth defects. Additionally, clones which survive to adulthood may end up becoming extremely abnormal. Thirdly, there is not enough scientific knowledge to safely and efficiently clone a human being. There is a very low survival rate in cloning, both animal and human. Dr. Lee Silver cited the example of in vitro fertilization to support this. Doctors who developed in vitro technology had to test 103 women with this new technology before they got a single success. This is a success rate of less than one percent. Also, Ian Wilmut, the developer of dolly, put cloned embryos into 13 female sheep. Out of these 13 sheep, only one got pregnant and had offspring, which was Dolly. This is a success rate of approximately 7.5 percent. As cited, the success rate of human cloning is much too low to orchestrate it. Not only would hundreds of dead cloned cells be a waste of time and energy, it is also a waste of science, and could set a very dangerous precedent. The science of cloning is much obscured, and if scientists were to go ahead and clone humans when they are ill-prepared, this could encourage scientists to engage in other activities which have not been properly researched. The effects of experimenting with something and being inadequately prepared to handle it could be detrimental. There is a very high risk for abnormalities in cloning, especially human cloning. There could be many age-onset conditions in cloning that scientists will not know about until many years later. In an interview, Dr. Don Wolf talks about age-onset conditions in cloned mice. As cloned mice get older, there seems to be development of an obesity condition. Again, scientists did not know about this condition until the mice aged, and by then, it was too late to reverse it. The same could happen if humans are cloned. Suppose there is a condition in a cloned human being that begins to develop at age 60. First of all, it is very unlikely that the clone will reach age 60, but if it does, they will begin to develop a condition that could be detrimental to their health. The scientists which created the clone would have no idea about this condition until it appears in the clone, and the danger with this is that by the time the clone turns 60 and the condition becomes evident, scientists could have already cloned hundreds of humans. These clones would be destined to develop an awful condition at age 60, and there is absolutely nothing that could be done about this. Now, this chance is much too dangerous to take, and human cloning should definitely not be used. There is not enough good science behind human cloning to begin to use it. In an interview, Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch states his opinion on the supposedly good science surrounding human cloning. “Human cloning is totally flawed. It’s bad science. That is, if there is any science in it at all…scientists have not had any experience with human cloning.” Jaenisch goes on to say that any scientist who claims they are experienced in the field of human cloning are citing “distorted evidence taken from animal cloning research.” All that Dr. Jaenisch has said is very true. There have been no human clones made, and until then, one cannot claim that they are experienced in human cloning. Even so, one should not even start human cloning until they are able to master the art of animal cloning. As previously mentioned, there is a low survival rate and a high chance of abnormality in mammalian cloning, and it is predicted that these trends will repeat themselves in solely human cloning. But once again, these are just predictions. They are not hard facts. There is not enough known about animal cloning to clone animals at a high rate, and there is definitely not enough known about human cloning to clone humans at all. Human cloning is definitely not beneficial to society. There is a very low survival rate in cloning of any species. Additionally, there is a high chance of birth defects or abnormalities in human cloning, some of which may not be discovered until many years later. Also, there is not nearly enough science behind human cloning to orchestrate it. Human cloning can be very detrimental to society and definitely should not be done.Sincerely,Evan Rosenberg

Amity High School teaches all students to think critically and creatively and to develop their potential through a diverse program of courses and activities that help them mature into productive and responsible citizens.

25 Newton Rd., Woodbridge, CT

About Me

Ms. Deborah Day is currently in her sixteenth year of teaching at Amity Senior High School and has taught all levels of Chemistry I as well as AP Chemistry. In 2006, Ms. Day was elected Instructor for the Science Research Program. Ms. Day earned a B.A. with a double major in Biology and Chemistry as well as a M.S. in Chemistry. Her thesis research “Platinum Nanoparticle Synthesis, Characterization and Interaction with Polymeric bis(methylthio)maleonitrile Derivatives” was conducted at SCSU. Summer research experience includes: 2008 Applied Physics with Mark Reed (Yale); 2010 Yale School of Medicine (Huang Lab); 2011 Externship via NSTA-UTC STEM.
Ms. Day is a currently the Co-Chair of the Amity Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Committee and was a finalist in the 2010 CT Technology Council's "Women of Innovation". In spring 2012 she was also awarded the New England Secondary School Chemistry Teacher Award (CT) and Amity's Teacher of the Year. She was also one of 15 Semi-finalists for the 2013 CT Teacher of the Year.